A World Apart
by James Firebrand
Summary: So...are they ignoring you then?" "W-why?" "Mabye you guys aren't as good friends as you think..." JoshuaxRhyme. One-Shot. For The Legendarie L-T's birthday.


**Disclaimer: I do NOT own The World Ends With You**

**A World Apart**

**Well, this is my first shot at a one-shot, as well as a romance fic. Hopefully, I won't fail _too_ badly at either. **

**This is for The Legendarie L-T on her birthday! Thank you Saro, for being a great friend and for introducing me to the greatest pairing in TWEWY!**

* * *

Raimu Bito trotted through the crush of people swarming through Shibuya's scramble crossing. That was one advantage of being young and short, your lack of height made it easier to navigate through crowds. Her brother Beat on the other hand had to practially bulldoze his way through his fellow pedestrians to get to where he was going.

Rhyme, as she was known, smiled at the thought of her older brother. Ever since they had escaped the Game along with their friends Shiki and Neku several weeks ago, Beat had become a changed person. Before the Game he was apathetic and distant. But now, Beat was filled with a new zest for life and gave his all at everything he put his hand to.

Rhyme emerged from the crowd into the relative quiet surrounding the statue of Hachiko. She looked around but none of her friends seemed to be there yet. The cool wind tugged at the stray strands of straw colored hair poking from underneath her black hat.

"Looking for someone?" A voice asked behind her.

Rhyme whirled to face the speaker. The person in question was a boy in his mid-teens, with unruly ash-colored hair, and striking violet eyes. We was perched casually in a precarious position on the statue of Hachiko. One leg hung down lazily while the other was pulled up against his right shoulder. He looked at her with a vaguely amused look in his eyes.

"Oh...Yes" She said, slightly surprised at being spoken to by a total stranger. "How did you know?"

The boy laughed and flicked at a stray strand of hair. "Have you forgotten where you're standing? This is _the_ meet-up spot in Shibuya!"

Rhyme blushed and laughed also. "Oh, right."

"The name's Joshua." The boy said.

"I'm Rhyme." She introduced herself.

Joshua flashed an enigmatic smile. "I know." He said, continuing on before Rhyme could ask him exactly how he knew.

"You and your friends come here often?" He asked.

Rhyme nodded. "Nearly everyday for the past few weeks."

"Mmm." Joshua appeared amused. "You must be very close."

"Yes." Rhyme said. "Very." She smiled again as she thought of her friends.

Joshua raised an eyebrow and at the same time, Rhyme felt a shiver pass through her body,

"You're waiting here for Neku, right?" Joshua asked, sliding off Hachiko.

"Y-yes." Rhyme rubbed her arms, dispelling the chill. "How did you know?"

Joahua laughed. "He's a friend of mine too, he asked me to meet him here."

"He did?" Rhyme couldn't recall Neku ever mentioning someone like him, but somehow, he was still strangely familiar...

Joshua was about to make another comment when Rhyme noticed her friends approaching.

"Oh!" She chirped. "Hey!" She waved energetically.

Neku, Shiki and Beat walked right past her, without even giving her a glance.

Rhyme frowned but hurried after them.

"...I don't know." Neku was saying. "But he's just gone!"

Beat frowned. "Mr. H ends up saving all our asses more than once in the Game, but when we feel like getting a cup of coffee, he up's and varnishes? This don't add up, yo."

Shiki laughed. "It's 'vanishes', Beat." She frowned. "By the way, where's Rhyme?" She asked as they all sat down on a bench next to Hachiko. "She's usually here before us, isn't she?"

"Guys, I'm right here!" Rhyme said, sitting down next to Beat.

"You hear something, yo?" Beat asked, looking around.

"Guys?" Rhyme was getting worried. "If this is a joke, it isn't funny!"

"What exactly are you hearing?" Neku asked.

"Um, Guys?" Rhyme called again.

"I don't know..." Beat rubbed his ear. "It's like this really annoying buzzing sound."

"Mabye they just can't hear you..." Joshua volunteered.

"Don't be ridiculous," Rhyme snorted. " 'Daisukenojo' is just being stupid." If the use of her brother's real name didn't get a rise out of him, nothing would.

Beat twitched.

"Are you OK?" Shiki asked.

"I'm telling you, I hear something, yo." Beat insisted. "It's like it's coming from over there."

Beat turned, Neku leaned forward to see around him, both looking straight at Rhyme.

"Dude, there's nothing there." Neku said.

Rhyme stared at her friends, tears filling in her blue eyes.

"Well, where could she be?" Shiki asked.

"Should we go look for her?" Beat asked worriedly.

"Nah, forget about it. She'll be fine." Neku waved a hand. "She's problably just late."

"So...are they ignoring you then?" Joshua asked, sounding as confused as she was, if that were possible.

"W-why?" Rhyme fought back the tears, wiping at her eyes with her overly long sleeves.

"Mabye you guys aren't as good friends as you think..." Joahua suggested gently.

The simple statement was the last straw. Rhyme broke down completely. She knelt on the wooden bench, sobs wracking her petit body.

Joshua said nothing, he simply sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him.

Rhyme cried for what seemed an eternity, but eventually she had no tears left to shed.

She leaned against Joshua, sniffling slightly.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised..." Rhyme said miserably after a while.

"Why is that?" Joshua asked.

"Because" Rhyme sobbed. "Because I'm so weak!"

She tried to cry again, but no tears came.

"I was the one who got us both killed. I was the one who got erased first,"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Rhyme realized Joshua problably knew nothing about the Game and so had no clue what she was talking about, but she continued on.

"I was the one who that woman used to distract Beat during the Game. Why should they want to be my friends? I'm nothing but dead weight..."

She trailed off, staring at the overcast sky.

"C'mon" Joshua said gently after a while. "Let's get outta here. If they're the type of jerks who just ignore their friends, you don't want to be around them."

Rhyme started to get up to leave, but she turned to take one last look at her friends. Shiki, who was just now discovering her own identidy as a person. Neku, who just a few weeks earlier would've passed them by without a glance, And Beat, who had saved her from the Reapers.

Rhyme bowed her head. She couldn't leave them. No matter what, she couldn't leave them.

"No."

Joshua turned, staring at her. "What?" He asked incredulously.

"I-I'm not going to leave them." Rhyme wiped the last of the tears away.

She lifted her head. "I may not be their friend anymore." She said, a glint of steel in her blue eyes. "But they're still mine, and they're really the type of people who abandon their friends, then they deserve my pity, and need my friendship."

Rhyme turned back to her oblivous friends. "And I"m going to give it to them."

Joshua said nothing for a long time, then quietly at first, he began to laugh. He laughed harder and harder until tears streamed from the corner of his eyes.

"Well done, Rhyme" He said, wiping his eyes. "You passed."

Rhyme stared at him strangely.

"I've had my eye on you for a long time." Joshua said. "And to be quite honest, if you had done anything less, I would've been deeply dissapointed."

Rhyme was about to ask him what he meant, but Joshua beat the thought to her lips, kissing her deeply.

All Rhyme could do was sit there in shock. Then, slowly, she returned the gesture. She could feel the tip of Joshua's tounge explore her mouth as her arms snaked up around his neck. Time seemed to freeze as the world revolved around the two. Ice and fire blasted through Rhyme's veins as their tounges touched together as gently as butterflies.

After several minutes, Joshua broke contact. He stared at her, deep affection in his eyes.

"Joshua," Rhyme began. "What--?"

Joshua silenced her by planting a finger on her lips, as he did so, she felt a hot shiver pass over her skin.

"BWAAAAAAAA!" Rhyme spun at Beat's scream, just in time to see her older brother fall off the bench. Shiki shreiked as well and Neku jumped to his feet.

"Oh my god!" Shiki panted, putting a hand over her heart. "Don't sneak up on us like that!"

"Where the hell you been, yo?" Beat demanded.

"I've been here the whole time!" Rhyme exclaimed. "I was trying to talk to you, but you guys kept ignoring me!"

Neku narrowed his eyes. "Rhyme." He said. "You weren't there until just now."

"I was right here the whole time!" Rhyme insisted. "You were staring right at me! Tell them, Jo--"

She turned, only to find Joshua gone. "Joshua?" She asked.

"What?!" Neku demanded sharply. "Joshua was here?"

"Why would _he_ be here?" Beat demanded, venom in his voice.

"I asked him to come." Neku said, still sounding as if he were in shock.

"You asked him?" Beat demanded. "Why would you do that?"

As the two boys bickered, Rhyme stared at where Joshua had been sitting only seconds ago. There was something lying on the bench. Rhyme picked it up.

It was a silver feather.

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**And that's all he wrote! I wrote this whole thing in 2 and 1/2 intense days, and if you know how slowly I write, that's BLAZINGLY fast. I hope the story wasn't too confusing for people. **

**This storys title wasn't my first choice, but I didn't have time to come up with a proper name...**

**Once again, this is dedicated to The Legendaire L-T! Happy Birthday, girl!**


End file.
